“It’s more complicated than that, Cardinal. The Acerbi clan has a multi-layered hierarchy, with secret groups within secret groups. He’s evidently received some advice from some of the best intelligence minds in the world. The right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing. From an intelligence standpoint, it’s brilliant, but to anyone trying to break through into the inner circle to see just what’s really going on, it’s a nightmare. For over two hundred years, the Acerbi clan has been stacking the deck in their favor. All across the world, their people are embedded within the top echelons of the police, the military, big industry … they even have people at the executive level in a number of governments, including two sitting presidents. They control people in top positions in almost every government on earth.”
“So basically, we don’t know who to trust.”
“Exactly. That’s why we’ve chosen to work only with people we know well.”
“So our meeting with Javier and his group was no accident.”
“Not by a long shot. The crash of Orsini’s jet was a perfect opportunity to get your two teams together.”
“So the crash was just what it appeared to be,” Leo said. “An accident?”
“Some would call it providence, Cardinal. But whatever you want to call it, the
“The ones found at the crash site?”
“Yes. We had the contents analyzed for a genetic signature after we received a copy of Acerbi’s memo. They were made from Acerbi’s genetically altered wheat. It looks like they were planning on replacing the hosts in the pope’s private chapel with the genetically altered ones, thus making the pope susceptible to the virus after he ate one. We believe it was their intention for Orsini to become pope and lay the blame for the viral outbreak right at the doorstep of the Church, thus honoring Acerbi’s ancestral pledge to destroy the Catholic Church from within.”
Leo stared back at Zamir and sat down next to Evita. “This is unbelievable.”
“The papacy has been laced with intrigue for the past two thousand years, Cardinal. This latest attempt to assassinate a sitting pope should come as no surprise to a church historian with your credentials.”
“So it was Pope Michael’s idea to send us to Spain?”
“Yes … after Morelli suggested it. The pope needed his best soldiers involved in the coming battle. Regardless, your two teams are now one, and Acerbi’s plan has finally been revealed to us.”
“Martha and Fredrick?”
“Katsas … Mossad field agents. I find it amusing that no one noticed they never made it onboard the Carmela in France.”
“What!” Alon shouted. “I’m sure I saw them on the beach … we did a head count.”
“There was an Israeli sub lying off the French coast. Some of our Special Forces snipers came ashore and positioned themselves in the dunes before your group arrived on the beach. Martha and Fredrick slipped off in the darkness to join them when you were all struggling with the Carmela’s boats in the surf.”
“I knew all along there were people watching us from those dunes,” John said.
Zamir smiled as Ariella rolled her eyes.
“The barge?” Leo asked Zamir.
“Ours.”
“Go figure.”
“So basically, we were bait,” Lev said, finally breaking his silence. “I’m not sure I appreciate you putting us in harm’s way like that without telling us, Danny.”
“You were once one of us, Lev. You know how we operate. We couldn’t show our hand until after we were sure no one at the compound or in your group was connected to Acerbi. His tendrils are wrapped around everything. If it’s any consolation, we’ve always had your back. Who do you think destroyed your helicopter and set off those charges around the compound before the attack?”
“Martha and Fredrick?”
“Ephraim. He was instrumental in making sure you were out of the castle when Acerbi’s choppers arrived.”
“Why didn’t you just take out the choppers before they got to us? You evidently had assets in the area.”
“For the same reasons I mentioned earlier … secrecy. Our plan will fail if Acerbi catches even a hint that we are aware of his involvement. Suffice it to say that our power lies in his ignorance. For now, he’s still trying to cover up the kidnapping of Sarah and figure out what you were doing in France. Once we found out that he was behind the disappearance of the only person in the world who had survived the virus, we knew we had our man … Acerbi was behind the biological attacks. Luckily for us, Martha and Fredrick were already in place. They risked their lives searching the chateau for documents to back up our suspicions.” Zamir laughed. “You didn’t really believe that stuff about the laundry chute, did you, Cardinal?”
“Sounded plausible to me, but what about Sarah? You were still risking the life of a civilian who had no idea what she was getting herself into.”
“There are no civilians when it comes to killing off half the planet,” Zamir said, his eyes scanning every face in the room. “Besides, Sarah was under our protection the entire time she was at the chateau. Despite their appearance, Martha and Fredrick are two very experienced operatives. They’ve been caretakers for some of the most evil men in the world … who by the way are no longer with us. They were prepared to give their lives for Sarah if Acerbi had decided to harm her. For now, it appears he is busy putting his power base to work in an effort to discredit the entire Bible Code Team and prove to the world that you brought Sarah to France-that you were a bunch of radical survivalists creating your own paramilitary base on French soil for your own nefarious reasons. He’s throwing up smoke clouds everywhere to keep the attention away from him. This buys us time on two fronts. He doesn’t dare release anymore virus until things calm down, and we now have more time to find the source of the pathogen before we take him out.”
“Wow,” John said. “This guy’s like the Antichrist.”
Zamir nodded his head. “That’s a good analogy my young friend, because we’re looking at a viral Armageddon if we don’t stop him.”
“So what do we do now?” Leo asked.
“Sleep, Cardinal … just sleep. Tomorrow we’ll go over our plan.”
With that, Danny Zamir walked from the room, followed by an entourage of some very serious-looking men.
CHAPTER 43
An unseasonable Mediterranean storm had kissed the coast during the night, leaving a treasure trove of debris up and down the beach for early morning beachcombers. Now that the storm had passed, the rolling dark clouds had been replaced by bright sunlight, and behind the villa, the sun’s rays were bouncing off the pool, reflecting against the white stucco walls of the grand house. If it weren’t for the heavy military presence, the entire scene would have been the perfect setting for a picture in a travel brochure.
Opening his eyes, Leo looked around the white-shuttered guest room and pulled the quilted comforter up next to his chin. During the storm, he had tossed and turned for over an hour before sleep finally came. Now, instead of jumping out of bed as was his habit, all he wanted to do was roll back over and close his eyes again. His dreams hadn’t been all that pleasant, but he feared the real nightmare still lay ahead. He needed a shower and some strong Italian roast coffee.
When it was finally evident that he was not going back to sleep, he made his way into the bathroom and stepped through the green-tinted glass doors of the shower. Feeling the cool tiles against his bare feet, he adjusted the water temperature to just below scalding. Rivulets of soap circled down into the drain as he lathered up and let the hot water massage his stiff muscles. Age was beginning to creep up on him, and although the typical youthful angst involved in searching out the meaning of life was something he was glad to leave behind, it would be nice to just hop out of bed in the morning without groaning.
When he was finished, he turned off the water but remained standing on the wet tiles, holding on to the
